Psychologist Appointment

[Tetra]

I have an appointment with a psychologist tomorrow morning. The panic attacks, depression, and anxiety have been steadily getting worse so I am finally seeking out professional help. I was wondering from those that are in counciling or have been what I can expect from my first appointment. Since I'm going to a psychologist instead of a psychiatrist they will not be able to prescribe anything.

[nomorepanic]

Here is an extract from the time I went to see a psychotherapist. Hope it helps....


I was there for about 1.25 hours and asked 6 million questions for starters. I thought I would write some of them down, as anyone else going for any sort of evaluation for therapy is likely to be asked the same.

Here we go with the ones I can remember being asked….

Age, Weight, Height, Living arrangements, children, length of time with partner etc, where was I born and where was I brought up.

Family History - Parents & brothers/sisters – alive/dead? age, state of health, history of mental illness, relationship towards them. Childhood upbringing ?

School – did I do well at school, was I liked, many friends? Qualifications I got etc.

Work – how long there, friends at work? what job I did? Am I happy, settled, fulfilled etc

How did I view myself, what was my personality? Was I ever moody, irritable, unhappy, sad.

How was my concentration and memory?

How did my partner view me – what did he think about my current issues.

Medications/Illnesses – What medications I have ever been on, what dose, how long, what illnesses have I suffered from? Any ongoing health concerns. How do I feel in general at the moment?

Food/ Drink – Do I have a good appetite, how much alcohol do I drink

Sleep – is it good, bad, problems waking up or not dropping off?

What changes have happened in my life the past 2 years – issues with work? relationships? deaths in family? any changes that have been significant (e.g new job or losing a job)?

What were my hobbies? What sort of social life did I have?

What history did I have of panic/anxiety/depression? What treatment did I get for it? Did it work? How long did it go on for etc.

What was I currently doing to help overcome my problems?

The only thing she didn't ask - which I was asked the first time I went for psychotherapy - was "how is your sex life"

One other thing she did say about medication was this: People are put on too high a dose too quickly so get horrible side-effects, feel rubbish and worse than they did and then they want to stop taking it. She said people should be started on the lowest possible dose and built up slowly. She recommends the same being done when coming off but would expect someone to be on medication for at least 9-12 months before getting any real benefit and improvement from it. Interesting point this as my doc always told me I needed to give it at least 6 months.

She also said that she really believes that depression/panic/anxiety can be hereditary and mine could be because of my father’s previous history of similar issues.

Another comment was that almost all panic episodes follow some form of depression. I always thought it was the other way round cos I got depressed because of the panic but she said that there must have been something lurking around anyway in my life and then it manifested as panic attacks.



Nicola

[Tetra]

Thanks, it is nice to know what I can expect out of tomorrow. The panic coming after depression would kind of make sense. I have been depressed for as long as I can remember, but the panic is relatively new.